Hatchet Attack Victim Remains in Critical Condition

ESCONDIDO - A 29-year-old man remains hospitalized Thursday in critical condition one week after a gory hatchet attack in Escondido that may have resulted from a case of mistaken identity, police said.

Veteran Border Patrol agent Gamalier Rivera, 32, is in custody in lieu of bail just under $10 million. On Monday, he pleaded not guilty to attempted murder, torture, aggravated mayhem, assault with a deadly weapon and burglary.

The attack occurred around 1 a.m. on July 7 at a home on South Upas Street. Escondido police said Rivera's estranged wife lives at the residence and was likely Rivera's target.

But instead of attacking Erika Von der Heyde, Rivera attacked Von der Heyde's female roommate and her boyfriend in their bedroom. The woman was treated and released from the hospital the day of the attack but her boyfriend, whose name hasn't been released, suffered far more serious injuries, police said.

Von der Heyde, who is in the process of divorcing Rivera for the second time, told The San Diego Union-Tribune that Rivera was upset because a judge had ordered his wages garnished $2,200 a month in child and spousal support. The order came one day before the attack.

"This whole thing, sad to say, is because of money," the 33-year-old woman said.

Rivera, who joined the Border Patrol in 2003, was arrested shortly after the attack after he was found near the crime scene with blood on his clothing, police said.

Wife's TRO

In April of 2005, the wife of a U.S. border patrol employee charged in a brutal hatchet attack was granted a temporary restraining order against her husband.

In it, Erika Von Der Heyde Teran states that she and her husband, Gamalier Rivera, fought over having relatives stay at the house during a visit.  After the fight, Erika discovered a list written by her husband in which he detailed how he planned to murder her and dispose of the body:

"It listed the steps about what he needed to buy.  Gloves, Plastic, Trash Bag, Weights.  That he needed to find a dark place with no cars, and then described how he would put the body in the bag, weigh it down and destroy the evidence."

Read the full TRO in the above link.

Wrong Target

Investigators were called to a bloody crime scene just after 1 a.m. Thursday morning. Now a U.S. Border Patrol employee, Gamalier Rivera, is accused of trying to hack a couple to death in their own home.

Investigators are trying to determine if it's a case of mistaken identity since Rivera's estranged wife was in the house at the time of the attack.

Investigators say Rivera entered the couple's bedroom and struck the 29-year-old man in the neck and back leaving him with life threatening wounds.  The man's girlfriend's legs were cut but she only had minor injuries.

Neighbors just across the street say they didn't hear anything this morning, but are still in shock.

"That's horrible, that's unbelievable. I don't know what is going on in this world," says Norma Lopez.

Investigators aren't sure how Rivera got into the house.

"Whether their door was left open, or a window was left open, or the house was left unsecured at this point we haven't found any forced entry into the home," says Escondido Police Lieutenant Bob Benton.

Rivera was later found just blocks away by a pay phone at a 7/Eleven. His clothes were bloody and blood was dripping on the ground.

"He didn't run, he didn't fight," Benton told San Diego 6.

Benton says officers took Rivera into custody without any trouble. The question now is why did Rivera allegedly attack the couple?

Rivera will be charged with a least two counts of attempted homicide.

Earlier Reports:

	Hatchet Attack 7/9/09 A border patrol employee is behind bars, accused of attacking a couple in their home with an axe.
	Escondido Hatchet Attack 7/9/09 Two people and an attacker are injured during a gruesome crime in Escondido.